


Homecoming

by HighlyOpinionatedNerd



Category: Speed Racer (2008)
Genre: And First Aid, Confessions, Fake Your Death by My Chemical Romance, Post-Canon, also: gross misinterpretations of the inner workings of the legal system, cw for mild violence and blood, recommended soundtrack:, stubborn idiots to partners (who are both still stubborn idiots)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:40:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28725981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HighlyOpinionatedNerd/pseuds/HighlyOpinionatedNerd
Summary: Rex Racer was convinced that he could keep his identity secret from his family forever. There was no need to tell them, and needlessly put them in danger by doing so. He could simply let them go on believing that he had died a long time ago. But that was all before he agreed to team up with his rival's sister, Horuko Togokhan, on her mission to single-handedly take on the entire cartel. After that, things didn't seem quite so simple anymore.
Relationships: "Fukumen Racer" Mifune Kenichi | Rex "Racer X" Racer & Horuko Togokhan
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	Homecoming

Patience is not a virtue that Rex Racer was born with. He doesn’t like waiting. He doesn't like holding still. Patience is a skill, that he’s had to work hard to develop over the course of his career. Because when you work for the CIB, being patient is a huge part of the job description.

Six months is a long time to wait. He tried to be patient, tried to fill his time with other things, to distract himself. Until the day he’d been waiting for finally arrived, and the courts announced a trial date for the cartel’s frontman, Cruncher Block.

Rex was just sitting down to pour himself a glass of wine in celebration, when suddenly, his phone rang. The Inspector Detector’s ringtone. His heart sunk.

“What’s wrong,” he asked the moment that the line connected, “what’s happened?”

“A security alarm was just triggered at the Godelian Autonomics’ headquarters,” the Inspector’s voice sounded in his ear. “And we’re worried that Block may have sent someone to destroy their records.”

“Records of their dealings with the cartel, that could be used as evidence against him in court,” Rex guessed.

“Exactly.”

“I need you to send the location to the Augury’s nav,” Rex said curtly, rising and heading for the door.

“Already done. You’ll have to hurry- it’s a twenty minute drive from where you are.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be there in ten.”

There were already half a dozen cars parked haphazardly on the street in front of the building as Rex pulled up- each one bearing the Hydra-Cell logo. Rex grimaced as he climbed out of his car. Of all the cartel’s various thugs, he hated dealing with Hydra-Cell the most.

But, Hydra-Cell or not, it had to be done. He and his team had worked too hard to corner Block, only to have him slip through the cracks now.

After some quick thinking, Rex decided that it would be best to avoid an outright fight, if he could. Which meant getting to the files before them, if at all possible. They had a head start on him, but the fact that they were still here meant that they were still searching. And Rex was pretty sure he knew exactly where to look to find what he wanted...the boss’ office. Which was sure to be at the very top of the building, from where said boss could look down on the rest of his employees.

After some further quick thinking, and in the further interests of not starting a fight, he decided to climb the fire escape. He certainly didn’t have to worry about sneaking in- the alarms were already wailing loud enough to wake the dead, accompanied by flashing lights, and everything. No one would notice one more added to the clamour.

He took the stairs as quickly as he could (only seven flights- not so bad, really), kicked at the (thankfully not shatterproof) office window until he broke through, and stepped inside, mindful of the broken glass.

The first thing he saw when he looked up again, was the barrel of a gun pointed straight at him.

Rex made a strangled sound and dove most ungracefully out of the way, just as the shot was fired- the bullet struck the top pane of the window behind him, sprinkling yet more broken glass to the office floor.

Rex rolled to the side and took cover behind the office’s large wooden desk, cursing under his breath and fumbling at his belt for a smoke pellet, or a flash grenade, or _something_. Maybe his brilliant plan to avoid a fight hadn’t been as brilliant as he’d thought, after all...

...Hang on a second. His assailant hadn’t fired a second shot yet. That wasn’t very in-character for a Hydra-Cell goon, at all. What was going on?

He paused in his fumbling, trying to decide if he should risk a glance behind him, when he heard a voice call his name.

“...Racer X?” the voice asked timidly. “Is that you?”

Rex frowned. He knew that voice from somewhere, didn’t he?

Cautiously, he raised himself up and peeked over the edge of the desk.

On the other side, there stood a young Asian woman, with long, dark hair, wearing all skintight black clothing. There was a small handgun in her hands, now pointed at the floor, and a confused look on her face.

“... _Togokhan_?” he asked incredulously.

“Yes! Oh, I’m so sorry for shooting at you, I thought you were one of them,” she said, gesturing over her shoulder.

As Rex looked around the office properly, things began to make sense. Taejo Togokhan’s sister- Horuko, that was her name- was alone in the room. The door behind her was shut, and barricaded with an overturned filing cabinet. From the other side, he could distantly hear people shouting. There was a laptop open, screen glowing, on the table behind her.

“ _You_ were the one that broke in?”

“Yes,” she said matter-of-factly, turning back to the laptop. “We both know that Cruncher Block can’t be trusted to just sit back and accept the consequences of his actions. My brother’s attorneys need these files, and the evidence against him they hold.”

“And you decided that the smart thing to do would be to steal them first, before the bad guys had the chance.”

“Is that really such an unbelievable conclusion?”

“Yes, it is! Did you even stop to think this through? There’s one of you, and an army of them! Even if you get what you came for, exactly how were you planning to get out again?!”

“With this,” Horuko snapped, on the defensive now, gesturing to a compacted grappling hook hanging from her own belt. “If I take to the rooftops, they won’t even be able to trace my car back to me.”

“The rooftops.”

“That’s right.”

“Run across the rooftops, on foot, while they drive along below you, knowing full well that you have to come down sometime.”

Horuko opened her mouth to retort, paused, frowned, and closed it again.

“I concede, you have a point.”

From outside the office came a sudden loud _bang_ on the door. Clearly, the Hydra-Cell goons had found something to ram the door in with.

“You know what, whatever, it doesn’t matter now,” Rex said. “Grab the laptop, and we’ll-”

“I can’t, it’s still downloading.”

“What.”

“The files,” Horuko said pointedly. “They’re still downloading.”

“You wh- Why the hell would you not just take the whole laptop!”

“Because I don’t want them tracking it right to me! It’s almost done, alright, so just give me a few sec-”

_Bang._

“We don’t have a few seconds. Bring the whole thing, we’ll toss the computer once the download’s done.”

“But!”

“No buts! They’re coming through that door any second now, and we have to be out by the time they do. Unless you’d rather hang around for when the shooting starts?”

“Hmph. Fine.”

Horuko bent to pick up the laptop. Rex turned to step back through the window the way he’d come, reaching out as he did so to restart the Augury’s engine with the press of a button.

“Come on, we’re leaving!”

“I’m coming!”

They made it about halfway down before their pursuers finally broke through the door, arrived at the window, and started raining bullets down upon them like only Hydra-Cells ever do.

Horuko yelped in surprise and jumped to the side, and in doing so, unintentionally slammed into Rex. His foot slipped into the slight gap between the fire escape landing and the building, and the side of his head met the rough brick wall, hard.

He grunted in pain, and hastily wrenched his stuck foot free again. Hastily followed Horuko down the last couple flights of stairs and dashed across the street to the waiting Augury.

“Drive, drive, drive!” Horuko chanted, throwing herself into the passenger seat and ducking low, still protectively clutching the laptop to her chest.

“Working on it!”

Rex put the car in gear and slammed on the accelerator, speeding away from the Godelian Autonomics building with its wailing alarms, and the Hydra-Cell team’s constant hail of bullets.

“Whoo, god...ok, alright, download’s almost done.”

“Put your seatbelt on. You’re going to need it.”

“Do you think they’ll follow us?”

“They’ll try. They won’t get far.”

“How can you be s-”

“Look, leave the driving to me, ok? Just put your seatbelt on and keep an eye on that screen.”

“Alright, alright.”

Rex took a sharp turn onto a road that would take them out of the downtown area, and reached out to press a button on his dash. A moment later, the Inspector Detector’s voice filled the cockpit.

“You’ve secured the files?”

“Yes, I’ve secured the files. But we’ve got another problem.”

“Who’s that?” Horuko hissed.

“Is...is someone there?”

“Togokhan’s sister,” Rex said tersely. “Long story.”

“I see.”

“Oh, the download is finished! Should I-”

“Toss it, just toss it. Yes, out the window! Look, Inspector, I’ve got Hydra-Cell on my tail, and her to deal with. I might be out of contact for a little bit.”

“I understand. And I trust you to do the right thi-”

“Hey, turn here!”

“What?”

“Just do it!”

Rex growled in frustration, but yanked the wheel around anyway, as per Horuko’s instructions.

“Keep straight for a while- I know a place we can go, where they won’t find us.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“I see you really do have your hands full,” the Inspector Detector said, not even bothering to hide his amusement. “I’ll leave you to it, then, shall I? Stay safe out there, you two.”

Rex sighed forcefully as the line clicked off.

“Next turn is a left,” Horuko offered helpfully.

“Where, exactly, are you taking us?”

“My family has a property in this area.”

“Oh, sure! And here I thought you were worried about this whole thing getting traced back to you somehow!”

“It’ll be fine, no one’s there. The whole neighborhood is just wealthy families’ vacation homes. No one will ever know we were there! Oh, your turn is coming up.”

Rex sighed again. “I’m trusting you on this one. Don’t make me regret it.”

“You won’t. Turn here.”

“ _This_ is your family’s _second_ home?”

“No, this is my family’s _third_ home.”

“...Mm.”

“I know,” Horuko said, rolling her eyes. “I told my father we didn’t need another. We hardly even come here.”

Rex nodded, holding his tongue. For a place that was hardly ever occupied, the house sure was lavishly decorated. There was an entire fountain in the foyer, for crying out loud.

“Here,” Horuko said, leading him into the living room and gesturing widely. “Make yourself at home.”

Rex took her invitation and gingerly lowered himself onto the sofa. Now that the chase was over and the adrenaline had worn off, his ankle was really starting to hurt. Although, upon further inspection, it didn’t seem to be sprained- just bruised, and maybe a little swollen.

He’d been lucky this time, but a bruised ankle was no laughing matter, no matter how ridiculous it might seem. A single misstep on a mission could be the end of everything. He knew that. And still, somehow, he’d managed to make a total fool of himself out there. Had he really allowed himself to be so distracted by Block’s arrest as to neglect his training this badly?

“No food around, unfortunately,” Horuko interrupted his thoughts, reentering the living room from what he presumed was the kitchen. His other great distraction. “What kind of pizza do you like? I’ll order some. Tomorrow I’ll go out for some groceries...I think there’s a car in the garage…”

“Where are those files?” Rex asked, ignoring her.

“In my pocket,” Horuko said, wandering off through yet another door. “Why?”

“We need to get them to the Inspector Detector as soon as possible.”

“Inspector Detector?” she called, from somewhere further into the house. “The man you were on the phone with earlier?”

“Yes. He’ll make sure they’re taken care of properly.”

“With respect, Racer X, I’m not going to give you this drive.”

“What?”

“I suppose I could make you a copy,” she said, reappearing in the doorway again. “Couldn’t hurt. But I plan to deliver these directly to my brother’s attorneys, to help them build their case against Block.”

Rex threw up his hands in exasperation. “Unbelievable.”

“Is that not exactly what your boss would do?”

“No, it’s not! Corruption is Block’s middle name, and trouble follows him wherever he goes. What makes you think you can trust these lawyers?”

“Oh, is that it? Don’t worry, we can trust them. Of that, I’m sure. Here, ice pack. For your ankle.”

“I don’t need it.”

“Come on, I saw you limping earlier. I’m the one who pushed you. Let me help fix it.”

Rex sighed, but didn’t try to argue as she reached out to position the ice pack against his ankle, stretched out on the couch.

“I’ve been working closely with the team, since the very beginning,” she continued as she worked. “I went to school with the leading attorney. He was in the grade above me. He still owed me one from I used to cover TA shifts for him while he was out partying with his friends.”

“...You went to law school?”

“Yes, I did. I never finished, though.”

“How come?”

“Skipped out on my finals one semester to go watch Taejo race,” she shrugged, unbothered. “He was doing a circuit in Alaska, and I had never been. It was beautiful.”

“Beautiful enough to give up your whole career?”

“As I am reminded everywhere I go,” she said quietly, looking up at him, “rich men’s daughters do not have careers, they have hobbies. At this point, I think it’s all but expected of me. Besides...law school, med school, business, engineering...all things I find very interesting, but none so much that I would spend the rest of my life doing nothing else.”

“I see. And your father’s ok with that, is he?”

“He gave up trying to argue with me a long time ago,” she said with a mischievous smile. “Although, I know he still holds out hope that I’ll take over the family company someday.”

“If you don’t, who will? Your brother?”

“He’s much more suited to it, really. I could never sit still long enough. Here, I’ve got another ice pack for your head.”

“No,” Rex said sharply, reaching out and catching her arm as she reached out towards him. “The mask stays on.”

“Very well. Suit yourself.”

Horuko laid the second ice pack on the couch next to Rex. He sighed.

“Regardless of how well you know them, I’m still not inclined to trust your brother’s lawyers. I’ll be taking that copy of those files.”

“I’ll make you one. Just as soon as I call the pizza place. If you don’t speak up, you’re getting sausage and vegetables on yours, too.”

“I don’t need-”

“And I’ll prepare a room for you for the night, as well, shall I? You can have the guest room. And tomorrow, I’ll introduce you to the lawyers, if you like.”

Horuko swept out of the room again, ignoring his protests.

“ _Unbelievable_.”

For someone who had insisted he was so reluctant to stay, Racer X sure did take his time getting up in the morning. Not that that bothered Horuko. She rather enjoyed having the house to herself for a few hours, reflecting on the previous night’s adventures, and making plans for what she was going to do next.

Even though the Godelian Automatics files had been safely secured, she couldn’t shake the feeling that their troubles with Block’s trial were only just beginning. Powerful men who played with people’s lives and thought themselves above the law were all the same. Royalton had managed to come away with a much-reduced sentence, even in the face of overwhelmingly strong evidence against him. And strong evidence against Block- hard facts, something more tangible than just her brother’s word- was a lot harder to come by.

Horuko didn’t want him to get off easy. The man had threatened, poisoned, and later tried to have her brother killed. And, from what Taejo had said, he had threatened her, too. She wanted him to rot behind bars for the rest of his miserable life.

And, as much as she hated to admit it, Racer X was right about her. She wasn’t strong enough nor experienced enough to tackle the future obstacles by herself. She needed help.

But, how to convince him?

A slight noise from the hall shifted her attention- as if on cue, Racer X shuffled into view, stifling a yawn.

“Good morning,” she said politely. “I hope you slept well.”

“Fine, fine,” he muttered. Even with that impenetrable mask of his on, Horuko could tell he definitely was not a morning person. How adorably human of him.

“Have some breakfast,” she offered, gesturing to the open box of cold leftover pizza on the table between them. “Can I get you some tea or something?”

“Thanks,” he mumbled, dropping into a chair across from her. “Coffee…?”

“Let’s see, I know we have a coffee machine. I’m not sure if we have anything to brew in it, but I can check.”

All was quiet in the kitchen for a few moments, but for the sound of the two of them each chewing thoughtfully on their own cold pizza, and the soft hum of the coffee maker running. When it was done brewing, Horuko poured a cup and brought it back to the table with her. Racer X accepted it with a murmur of thanks, and took a long sip.

“So,” she said, just to break the silence, “what should I call you?”

“What?”

“It’s just that, Racer X seems a little bit...formal, I suppose? Unless, you prefer it?”

“...Just X is fine,” he said, setting his cup down again.

“Alright, X. And you may call me Horuko.”

“Sure. Whatever.”

He was starting to sound more like his normal, grumpy self, now that he was more awake. But Horuko wasn’t giving up that easily. She was determined to earn his trust, one way or another.

“How long before we can get that drive to your lawyer friends?” he asked, reaching for a second slice of pizza.

“I’m ready to go whenever,” Horuko shrugged. She was already dressed, and everything. X didn’t strike her as the type of man to just sit and wait patiently for her to fix up her makeup, she’d thought. “I’ll be grateful for your escort.”

“We’ll take the Augury, and get there faster. Soon as I’m done with this.”

“Works for me.”

One quick message to the lawyers and one cup of coffee later, they were ready to go. Horuko led X back through the house to the garage, where the car was waiting for them.

“What did you say her name was?” Horuko asked, trailing her fingers lightly across the hood.

“Augury.”

“She’s beautiful.”

“...Thanks.”

“May I ask you a question, though?” she asked as she slid into the cockpit. “If this is a race car, why the passenger seat?”

“There are two different models,” X explained, as he pulled them out into the street. “One for racing, and one for work. The racing model only has one seat, and much less weaponry.”

Less, but not none. Horuko rolled her eyes, smiling.

“Do you suggest we take the highway to where we’re going, or the back roads?”

“Highway should be fine. Just tell me when to exit.”

They were lucky enough to encounter little traffic on their way to Taejo’s attorneys’ office. X took care to park the Augury in the side alley, though, safely out of view of the street. Just in case.

“Hurry up in there,” he said, as she opened her door.

“What,” Horuko frowned, “aren’t you coming in, too?”

“I’d better not. Your brother and I aren’t exactly on the best of terms.”

“Oh, Taejo’s not here! Come on, I want you to hear what they have to say.”

“Not here? Isn’t he scheduled to testify?”

“Not for another week, at the least. He’s racing in Belize right now. Come on, then!”

“Ugh, fine. I still think we should make it quick.”

“I think he’s jealous of you, you know,” Horuko said, falling in step with X’s long strides, “and that’s why he doesn’t like you.”

“I think he just doesn’t like me. I don’t like him either, you know.”

“That’s fair. He makes himself hard to get along with sometimes, doesn’t he?”

“You could say that.”

The two of them entered the building and, at the secretary’s direction, made their way down the hall to a large conference room, where the legal team was holding a meeting.

“Excuse me,” Horuko called, sticking her head in the door. “Sorry to interrupt. Do you have a moment?”

“For you, Horuko? Always! Come on in!”

“Thank you!”

“Good to see you,” one of the lawyers said, rising to meet them. Tall, immaculate brown hair and gray suit. The kind of man that magazines and news headlines had been known to refer to as ‘charming’. “Oh, and, uh, I see you’ve brought a friend?”

“Racer X, my escort for the day. X, this is Tyler Cason, head of the team here.”

“Nice to meet you, Racer X. Was there, uh, something I could do for you, or…?”

“Thanks, but no.”

“He’s in town for some business with my father’s company,” Horuko interjected hastily, inwardly cursing herself for not having a more believable lie already planned out. “I just asked him to stop by here on the way with me. I have something for you.”

She held out the drive with the files on it, and Cason took it.

“What’s this, now?”

“The Godelian files you were wanting.”

“No! Really?” Cason looked elated. “How on earth did you get your hands on these?”

“I have my sources,” Horuko said playfully. “I pray you’ll put them to good use in your case.”

“Horuko, you’re a lifesaver. Wherever would I be without you?”

“Oh, helplessly lost, I’m sure. How goes the rest of it, though?”

“Better, now we have those files,” one of the others at the table said. “Now, I don’t suppose any of your mysterious sources could get us a copy of the Flying Foxes Freight bank records for the past, oh, I don’t know, decade or so?”

“Now, Garth,” Cason chastised, “Horuko’s done more than enough for us already. We have enough to work with, here. It’ll be enough,” he said, turning back to Horuko and smiling reassuringly. “I promise.”

“I have the utmost faith in you and your team,” Horuko assured him in return. “Please, Tyler, don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything else! I’ll come by and visit again sometime soon!”

“Thanks again!”

If Horuko remembered correctly, Flying Foxes Freight had been one of the teams Taejo, X, and Speed Racer had competed against back when they had taken part in the Casa Cristo rally race together. So, they had been under Block’s influence too, had they? Oh, who was she kidding...there was virtually nobody out there who _hadn’t_ been under Block’s influence.

The question was, what was she going to do about it?

“Listen, X,” Horuko said quietly, leaning in towards him across the Augury’s open cockpit, “I have a proposition to make you.”

“No,” he said flatly as he settled into the driver’s seat.

“You haven’t even heard what I have to say yet!”

“You want me to go with you to Flying Foxes. And you know I can’t do that.”

“Let me speak with the Detector Inspector,” she demanded, taking her seat on the passenger side.

“Inspector Detector.”

“Yes, sorry. He’s your boss, isn’t he? I can convince him to let you stay until this whole mess is over and done with.”

“He’d never agree to that!”

“Well, fine, he doesn’t have to know, then! X, please,” she said, leaning in even closer. “I just want to make sure that Block gets what’s coming to him. I know you want to see him face justice, too. I need your help to make that happen.”

“Things aren’t that simple,” X insisted.

“Stay with me. Just for a while. We can deliver the rest of the evidence anonymously! No one will know!”

“Your brother-”

“He’ll never know, I _promise_. On days when it’s quiet, you can come with me to watch the proceedings,” she added. Though he tried to hide it, she could tell that that piqued his interest. “We’ll sit in the back, where Taejo won’t see us. With your help, this will be over before you know it.”

X sighed. “Unbelievable. You’re crazy, you know that?”

“No,” Horuko smiled, “just stubborn.”

“If we’re going to do this, you have to follow my lead,” X growled, jabbing a finger at her accusingly. “No more stunts like the one you pulled last night.”

“I’ll do whatever you say, I promise!”

“I can’t believe I’m letting you talk me into this,” he grumbled, and she could tell that he was rolling his eyes at her behind his mask. “Alright, alright, put your damn seat belt on.”

“Yes, sir,” Horuko said cheerfully. “Ah, let’s not forget to stop for groceries on our way back!”

Rex didn’t know what he’d expected going into this…’partnership’... with Horuko, but it sure wasn’t what he got. The CIB had tried, numerous times in the past, to set him up with a partner, and it had never worked out. Rex was too demanding, too harsh, too single-mindedly driven, to make a good team player.

But working with Horuko was different.

She did everything Rex told her to, followed his every command without question. When he grew angry, or frustrated, and snapped at her, she didn’t take it personally. More often than not, she actually snapped back. But she always took his criticisms into account the next time, and he always noticed when she did. When he moved on his own, without pausing to tell her what he planned first, she didn’t panic and try to move without thinking. She knew her own limits.

She was very tech-savvy, he learned. No doubt one of her many ‘hobbies’. When the occasion called for it- such as when her father called, wondering where she was- she lied more easily and readily than he would have ever suspected she could. And, perhaps most importantly, she could hold her own in a fight.

“My father hired someone to give us self defense lessons when we were children,” she explained, one night in the kitchen over a pot of simmering pasta. “And he always used to say that I turned out to be a little _too_ good at it.”

“Hired someone to teach you a thing, and then got mad when you learned that thing well?” Rex clarified, briefly glancing up from the peppers he was dicing. Technically, they shared cooking duty, but Horuko was much better at it, so he usually let her take the lead when it came to making dinner.

“Well, it’s not _ladylike_ , you know.”

“Ah, right. Of course.”

“He uses that word a lot whenever I do something he doesn’t like. I’ve yet to nail down an actual definition. It all seems very arbitrary. Though I doubt he’d be happy if he knew about the jiu jitsu lessons I started taking the first time I went off to school.”

“It doesn’t bother you?”

“Well, no woman likes being told that she’s basically expected to reduce herself to staying quiet and demure all the time, because that’s what makes her ‘wife material’.”

“Not what I meant, although I get where you’re coming from. Keeping all these secrets from him doesn’t bother you?”

“Oh, that. Well, yes, sometimes I suppose it does, a little. And yes, I guess I’d like to tell him everything, someday. But honestly, my life is much happier without his disapproval hanging over my head all the time. I like being able to just do the things I want to without going through a screaming argument about it first. You know?”

“...Uh, yeah. I guess I can see where you’re coming from with that, too.”

After they raided Flying Foxes Freight and made off with the financial records, Block and his crew figured out what they were doing, and started taking the initiative, trying to get to the rest of the evidence first. Horuko and X spent night after night on the road, tracing the cartel’s movements, doing everything they could to stay one step ahead. And the ‘few days’ X had insisted he would spend with Horuko stretched out into a few weeks.

She didn’t mind, though. Just the opposite, in fact. Working with him was everything she’d dreamed it would be. The two of them were getting real results, taking things into their own hands. The evidence against Block and the rest of the cartel just kept pouring in- even before Block was sentenced, there was already talk of more arrests to be made, and further trials to take place.

It felt good, knowing she had a hand in that. Horuko had never felt more powerful than she did whenever she pulled that black mask on- clumsily fashioned from an old bedsheet in an attempt to imitate her partner’s fancy one- and raised her fists against the latest gang of goons the cartel had thrown up against them. Now she knew why X wore his all the time, she supposed. It was a really, really good feeling.

The longer they worked together, the more Horuko came to understand about X. He was one of the smartest people she knew, by far. He pronounced her name the right way, with the emphasis on the first syllable, without her ever even having to correct him. He had a very wry sense of humor, and he liked sweet foods.

And, he was lonely.

He never said so out loud, but he didn’t have to. She could tell. By the way he jumped sometimes when she entered a room, or the way she sometimes caught him talking to himself under his breath. The way he smiled when they sat down to a hand-prepared meal together.

Horuko had never had a friend like X. She was infinitely thankful for his companionship and his guidance in the crazy endeavor the two of them had taken on together. But, that didn’t mean he was completely without his faults, though.

“You need to be more careful,” she snapped loudly over her shoulder one night, as she stood in the kitchen preparing yet another ice pack while he lay stretched out on the couch.

“You’re welcome, for saving your neck,” he snapped back. He was hurting, she could tell.

“I can handle myself,” she insisted, stomping back to the living room with the ice pack and their little first aid kit. “Everything we do is for nothing if it kills us in the process! You have to know that, right? How can we ever hope to finish what we’ve started if we’re dead, huh?! The man had a knife! Jumping on top of him like that, you were basically asking for it!”

“Not like I did it on purpose,” X grumbled.

“I’m not so convinced.”

As she had before, Horuko set the supplies down on the cushion near him rather than try to apply them herself. Put the ball in his court, let him take responsibility for it.

His hand shook as he reached out for the kit, this time. He had taken a blow to the head that seemed to be pretty bad- the entire side of his face was covered in blood.

“That looks rough,” she said, more gently.

“...It’s not deep, I think. I’ll be fine, Horuko.”

She sighed. “You’re going to need to use the gauze in the kit to clean and bandage it, anyway. I’ll...leave you to it.”

“Wait,” he called suddenly as she rose, “wait.”

Horuko turned back, eyebrows raised. X hesitated, as if he wanted to say something, but couldn’t quite figure out how.

Then, silently, he reached up and pulled off his blood-stained mask.

...Oh. So it was like that, then.

Horuko wordlessly moved back over to him, and sat down on the arm of the couch next to him. She reached into the first aid kit and, brushing aside his short, dark hair, began to treat the wound on the side of his head. Thankfully, as he had said, it didn’t appear to be deep, although he had lost a fair amount of blood.

X made no sign of pain, or discomfort, or anything at all, really. Merely leaned into her touch, ever so slightly, and let her work.

“So,” Horuko said quietly as she knotted off the bandages, “what now?”

“Well. I was hoping you’d keep my secret.”

“That you’ve been hiding such beautiful blue eyes under there this whole time?” she asked, smiling a little in spite of herself.

X almost smiled, too. But he shook his head. “My identity, I mean.”

“Your secret is safe with me, X.”

“Rex.”

“What?”

“My real name,” he said slowly, carefully, “is Rex.”

Oh. _Oh_.

“As in...Rex Racer.”

“Yes.”

Horuko sat there in stunned silence for what felt like a long time, processing that.

“I was under the impression that Rex Racer died some time ago,” she said, just for something to say.

He shrugged, half sheepish, half defensive. “Yeah, that...that was on purpose. I had my first run in with Block, and...well, you know what he’s like. He targets families. I had to keep them safe, and-”

“Oh my god, we’re the same. Aren’t we?”

“Wh...what?”

“I went after Block because he targeted Taejo,” Horuko said, dumbfounded. “And you went after him because he targeted Speed. Didn’t you?”

“W-well...among other things, I guess, ye-”

“Does Speed know?!”

“No!”

“No!?”

“No! It’s too dangerous.”

“But Block’s locked up! You should tell him, he would want to kn-”

“ _No_ , no way. You don’t know, you have no _idea_ how much else is out there! I can’t, I can’t tell him. Or any of them.”

“Then...why me? Why tell me?”

“Because...we’re the same. You’re like me.”

“Oh...”

Horuko closed her eyes, willing herself to calm down. She was just having a bit of a hard time wrestling with the idea of having to watch her little brother grow up from afar, as Rex must have had to with Speed.

“I’m sorry,” he said awkwardly into the silence. “I didn’t mean to-”

“No, no. I’m the one who’s sorry. You’re right, I don’t know the whole of the situation. It’s not my decision to make. And I shouldn’t have raised my voice. It’s late, and you’re hurt.”

“I’m fine.”

“You will be, once you get some rest. If you want to talk about it, any of it, there will be plenty of time in the morning.”

“...Alright.”

“Can you stand?”

“Of course I can stand.”

Rex pushed himself up and, after only a brief moment of unsteadiness, began walking towards his room.

“Rex?” Horuko called out after him.

He paused in the entrance to the hallway. “Yes?”

“Thank you for trusting me.”

“Oh. Yeah, uh...sure. You should get some sleep too, you know.”

“Of course. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

Horuko gathered the first aid kit and all the bloody bits of gauze she had used to clean Rex’s wound. Then she went into her room and laid awake all night, wondering what it must have been like to be faced with the choice of keeping her family safe, at the cost of cutting off all contact with them.

In his shoes, she honestly couldn’t say that she’d have been able to do it.

Why had he done that. Why had he told her his real name. What on earth had possessed him to _do_ that?

Rex had no answers. It had just...seemed like a good idea at the time. In hindsight, he was pretty mortified, but for some reason he hadn’t been able to hold it back, at the time.

Honestly, it didn’t matter whether or not she knew. It didn’t change anything, really. Except for her perception of him, of course. It wasn’t going to help them complete their mission any easier, or anything.

So why the hell had it felt so important, in that moment, to tell her?!

It took a long, long time for him to summon up the energy to get out of bed in the morning. But, finally, he managed it. Went into the bathroom to replace the bandages Horuko had wrapped him up in the previous night- his head was looking a lot better, already, although it was very tender to the touch. He dawdled in his room for as long as he could, took a deep breath, and went out to the kitchen to face her.

She wasn’t there.

Rex frowned. He knew it, he shouldn’t have told her. She’d gone off and done something stupid, he was jsut sure of it.

“Horuko?” he called, entering the living room. She wasn’t there either. He checked the garage, but both the Augury and her father’s car that he’d left there since before they’d moved in were still right where they’d been left.

The house was huge, and it took some time, but eventually he did find her. On the back porch, huddled up in a wicker chair, with a steaming cup of tea on the table beside her.

“ _There_ you are,” he said, stepping outside. Though the sun shone brightly in the sky overhead, there was a definite chill in the air, warning them of the colder months to come.

“Oh!” Horuko jumped, then laughed. “Oh, you scared me!”

“Sorry.”

“It’s alright. I suppose I’m just not used to seeing you without your mask on just yet. How’s your head feeling?”

“Better, thanks. Scabbed over pretty nic...what is that?”

“Oh! I made a friend this morning,” Horuko said, moving her arm aside to reveal a tiny gray kitten asleep on her lap.

“...What?”

“I know, I was surprised, too. But he’s so friendly, walked right up to me and everything! I gave him some leftovers, and he just went right to sleep.”

“Huh.”

“I hate to say it, but he may have been dumped. Poor thing.”

“That could be,” Rex said, pulling up a chair opposite Horuko.

“You’re not allergic to cats, are you?”

“No. Why?”

“Because I think I’m going to keep him.”

Rex shook his head, smiling. There was something so...so… _disarming_ about Horuko. Or, perhaps that wasn’t quite the right word. Whatever the case, she always managed to surprise him.

“Do you even have any idea how to take care of a cat?”

“Come on, he’s already been abandoned once! We can’t let that happen again. How hard can it be, right? I think I’m going to call him Kimchi.”

“...Were those the leftovers you gave him?”

“Yes. Too silly?”

“I think it’s probably about the same amount of silly as the rest of this whole situation.”

“Thank you.”

“It wasn’t a compliment.”

“Sure it was. You can’t fool me, Rex.”

“Right.”

“Well, we’re going to be needing some proper cat food. And a litter box, I suppose, although I’ve no idea how we’re going to get him trained to use it. And we should get him some toys, while we’re at it!”

“Before all that, we should probably take him to the vet.”

“Ah yes, of course. Always a good place to start. Although, I’m sure you’ll be wanting some breakfast before that.”

“I guess so.”

“Here, you hold onto him for a moment, and I’ll bring something out.”

Rex reached out and accepted the sleeping kitten from Horuko without comment- he knew there was no use trying to dissuade her, once she’d made up her mind about something. Kimchi yawned, and settled right down into his arms without any sort of complaint.

Rex smiled again. He’d never had a cat before. How like Horuko to get a stray to trust her so completely, so easily.

...He couldn’t remember the last time someone had called him by his name. It felt...well, he wasn’t quite sure.

But, at least he could say with a fair amount of certainty that telling her hadn’t actually been as much of a disaster as he’d been afraid of.

Good…

Good.

The vet they went to informed them that their little kitten, Kimchi, needed to be treated for worms, but other than that, he was completely healthy. If he seemed a little lethargic, it was simply because he was completely worn out from being thrown out on the streets all by himself. After a few days of medicine, food, and shelter, he should become more active, and essentially revert to acting the way a kitten his age should act.

“You see, Rex?” Horuko said as they left the office. “He came up to the porch because he knew he’d be safe with us. He just knew!”

“I think he was just hungry, and you were an easy target.”

“Oh, whatever. I’m still keeping him. Get used to it.”

“Alright, alright. Just don’t let him loose in here while I’m driving, ok?”

Over the next week, the vet’s predictions proved entirely correct. Kimchi pounced on anything that moved, and made it his personal mission in life to knock everything he could off every counter in the house. 

Horuko unashamedly spoiled him rotten. And Rex didn’t stop her.

In other news, Cruncher Block’s trial continued, and with every passing day, it seemed less and less likely that he would get off lightly for everything he’d done. Rex and Horuko were, in a word, thrilled.

One afternoon, however, just as they were returning home from court, Rex heard it. The Inspector Detector’s ringtone. His heart sank. Again.

These things always seemed to happen just when everything was starting to go right.

“Your boss?” Horuko guessed when he rejoined her in the living room, matching his frown.

“Yeah. I have to go.”

“Go? Go where?”

“There’s been an anonymous tip that the cartel is planning a hit tonight,” he explained.

“A hit? Where? There’s nothing left. At least, nothing that could save Block from being convicted.”

“I don’t think it has anything to do with him. The rest of his men have no intention of going down with him, you know.”

“Where are they going? What are they after?”

“Uh-uh,” Rex shook his head. “Not this time. This is official CIB business, you’re not coming.”

“Ohhhhh, no you don’t,” Horuko said, crossing her arms. “You’re not benching me, Mr. Super Secret Agent.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“And everything we’ve been doing all this time hasn’t been dangerous? Two have a better chance than just one, Rex.”

“You don’t even know what it’s about!”

“Am I wrong, though?”

Rex felt like throwing up his hands in exasperation. “I’m trying to protect you!”

“And I’m trying to protect you!” she insisted. “So what’s it going to be? Am I tailing you all the way there, or am I coming with you in the Augury? Because I’m coming, one way or another, like it or not.”

“... _Fine_. Go and put your mask on, then. I’m leaving in five minutes, with or without you.”

“I’ll be right back,” she said, hopping up from the couch and hurrying off towards her room. He didn’t miss the way she smiled as she went.

Rex sighed. He was beginning to suspect that it really was hopeless, and there really was no use arguing with Horuko. She was just so stubborn that somehow, he always ended up giving in, one way or another.

Oh, well. He couldn’t deny, he had a bad feeling about this one. She was probably right, and it wouldn’t do any harm to have an extra pair of eyes and hands with him.

They reached their destination, a shipping yard in the next town over, after sunset. The few lights that there were around the yard made long and threatening shadows out of the equipment and crates piled high in every direction. Rex took care to park as close as possible while also keeping out of view- he knew from experience that it was easy to get lost and trapped in a cluttered environment like this.

“What are we looking for?” Horuko whispered as they made their way towards the control center in the middle of the lot.

“I’m not sure yet,” Rex said, also keeping his voice low, for whatever inexplicable reason. “But the cartel wants it. I’m pretty sure we’ll know it when we see it.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Call it a hunch. Trust me, we’ll know.”

“Ok…”

They entered the building- Rex picked the lock- and climbed up to the upper level, from which the movement of all the huge shipping crates was overseen in the daylight hours.

“...Well. Nothing’s jumping out at me so far. You?”

“No. This place seems like a really boring place to work.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

“Guess we’ll just have to look a little harder.”

Horuko headed towards the wall of windows facing outwards towards the bay, and the control panels running along the wall. Rex moved in, scanning the room for a safe, or a sealed box, or a folder with ‘confidential’ stamped on the outside. Something, anything, out of place.

Still, nothing jumped out at him.

“When did intel say they’d be here?” Horuko asked

“I don’t know. I’m surprised they’re not here already.”

“Where did this information come from, anyway? Are you sure you trust- Oh.”

“Oh, what?”

“I think I found what we’re looking for.”

Rex hurried over to where Horuko was. She gestured to a log book open on the desk in front of her, detailing all the cargo that came through the yard.

The line she was pointing to read simply, ‘semi-automatic rifles, one container.’

“Yeah, that’s probably it, huh.”

“I take back what I said. How the heck are we going to get an entire crate out of here before they get here?”

“I’m open to suggestions.”

“...We could drop it in the ocean.”

“Uh, no.”

“Well, what do you say we d-”

_Bang_.

Both Horuko and Rex jumped, whipping around in the direction of the door they’d come in through.

“We’re out of time,” Rex said, grabbing his partner by the arm. “Come on, bring the book.”

“Where are we going?!”

“There’s gotta be another way out. We have to get to it before they get to us.”

He sprinted to the other side of the room they were in and threw the door open, ushering Horuko into the hallway and closing the door behind him before taking off running again, in search of another way out.

Mere moments afterwards they heard shouting from the room they’d just left- apparently the absence of the log book had been discovered.

“Here,” Horuko said, leading the way down another flight of stairs and out the emergency exit.

“Back to the car,” Rex yelled, as the alarms began blaring the moment the door opened, “go, go!”

The two of them made a run for it, taking cover in the nearest aisle between the stacks of enormous metal crates. For the briefest moment, Rex dared to hope that they might make it out without attracting the cartel’s notice.

That is, until they turned a corner and ran headlong into a group of them.

“It’s _them_ ,” one of the men at the back yelled. Rex recognized him as one of Block’s assistants- the man with the missing finger, whom he had tangled with on a number of occasions, including at the Casa Cristo race with Speed and Taejo. 

“Get them!”

Two of the cartel rushed forward to meet them. One of them lunged at Rex and tackled him. He hit the ground hard, but not hard enough to stop him from reaching up to brace his hands against his attacker’s shoulders, effectively stopping him from doing any worse damage.

Nearby he could hear Horuko exchanging blows with an opponent of her own. Maybe even more than one. Rex had no idea what was going on- the guy on top of him wasn’t giving him much of a choice but to keep his attention on him.

Just as he finally managed to throw his assailant off, Horuko shrieked, and his heart skipped a beat. When he scrambled to his feet and whipped around, though, he realized that she hadn’t been hurt. Her mask had been pulled off in her struggle.

“ _Togokhan_!” The man with nine fingers screeched.

The man Horuko had been grappling with snarled and readied himself for another attack, but Rex jumped in with a well-placed kick that sent him flying back in the direction of the other cartel members, distracting them just long enough for him and Horuko to turn and run once again.

By this point, the men who had been up in the control center had caught on to what was happening, and had come after them, too. Rex and Horuko ran through row after row of shipping containers, taking turns at random while trying to keep heading at least in the general direction of the Augury.

“Wait a second, wait a second,” Horuko gasped as they rounded yet another corner, crouching down in the shadows. “I have an idea!”

“What are you doing?!”

“Giving them what they want,” she said, flipping through the log book until she found the page they had been looking at earlier, and tearing it out.

“Horuko-”

“There they are! Fire, fire!”

Rex hastily stumbled backwards, flattening himself against the far side of the aisle from Horuko.

“It’s not going to throw them off for long!”

“Long enough for us to get away!”

“The guns-”

“As if we could realistically do anything to stop them, anyway!”

“Oh, fine then! Just, whatever you’re going to do, make it quick!”

“Hey!” Horuko shouted, stepping out into the open with the log book raised above her head. “This what you want?”

“The book! She’s got the book!”

“Go _fetch_ it then!” she yelled, throwing the book with all her might over their pursuers’ heads.

There was a beat of complete silence as everyone watched the log book soar up, hanging for a moment suspended in the moonlight, before falling back to earth a good few yards away.

The cartel turned and ran after it, clamoring loudly over one another. Rex and Horuko shared a gleeful ‘I can’t believe that worked’ look.

And then Rex glanced back in the direction of the cartel. Just in time to see that the man with nine fingers had not turned and run with the others, and was carefully levelling his pistol.

At Horuko.

“No!” Rex shouted, and, without even so much as a second thought, he jumped.

“Hang on, hang on, hang on,” Horuko chanted, running as fast as she could while practically dragging Rex along with her. Behind her she could hear shouting, and she knew the cartel couldn’t be far behind.

But she didn’t look back.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of running in nightmarish slow motion, they reached the Augury. Horuko skidded to a stop, breathing hard, and flung open the passenger door.

“Sorry about this,” she said, and heaved Rex up and onto the seat.

“Argh!”

“Sorry! Hang on, Rex, hang in there for me.”

She hurried around and threw herself into the driver’s seat, breathing so hard that she could hardly see straight.

“H-Horuko-”

“Hold on,” Horuko said, fumbling with the controls until she figured out how to get the Augury in gear. “Hold on, we’re going to be ok, just hang on...Ack!” 

She yelped as the car accelerated much faster than she had expected it to, and quickly jerked the wheel around to avoid crashing headlong into a lamp post. Rex grunted with pain.

“Sorry, sorry! Are you alright?!”

“I’m...I’m f-fine…”

“They know it’s been me helping you,” Horuko said, doing everything she could to hold back a sudden wave of tears. She was driving, she couldn’t afford to cry, too. “We can’t go home, they’ll know where to find us…”

“Drive into town,” Rex gasped, shakily steadying himself with a hand against the car door.

“What?”

“To the track. It’s sure to be deserted th-this time of night.”

“You need a hospital.”

“No, it’s not that bad.”

“Not that _ba_ -”

“I’m going into sh-shock, that’s all…”

“Rex, that can be deadly!”

“So could going to a hospital with them following us! Just, just, help me stop the bleeding...?”

“...I don’t like this.”

“Noted.”

“Alright. Just hang on, ok? Hang on.”

Horuko drove, as fast as she could without getting them both killed, through town to the racetrack, following Rex’s shaky directions. Once there, she pulled through the parking lot and onto the track itself, hoping that, should any of the cartel come looking for them, they’d be safe out of sight behind the stands.

“First aid kit is in the back,” Rex said weakly, fumbling to open the door.

“I’ll get it. You stay put.”

Horuko hurried to grab the kit, and then around to Rex’s side of the car. Her hands were shaking, too.

Thankfully, by some miracle, the bullet seemed to have merely grazed the side of Rex’s leg. Which was to say, there was still a huge gash in his thigh, and blood everywhere. But there was no bullet actually lodged in his leg, as she had been afraid there might be. Still bad, but at least now she could skip the worrying about how to get a bullet out of him with no tools, and get right to focusing all her energy on stopping the bleeding.

“This is going to hurt,” she warned, kneeling down on the track and reaching into the first aid kit.

Rex grunted as she reached up to reposition his leg, but didn’t complain. Just sat quietly the entire time she worked, making an obvious effort to regulate his breathing.

“Here,” Horuko said, once his leg was fully bandaged. “These are antibiotics. I think.”

“Think you’re right.”

“You didn’t think to pack any painkillers, though?”

“Must have used them all up. Don’t worry about me, I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine,” Horuko said quietly, blinking back a fresh wave of tears. “Just look at you, Rex…”

“Hey, hey,” he said, gently placing a hand over hers. “I’m _fine_. I’ve been in worse spots before. Everything’s going to be alright.”

Horuko shook her head, squeezing her eyes closed. “...It’s always you getting hurt to protect me,” she whispered.

“And it’s always you having to patch me up again afterwards, isn’t it? Maybe you should have stuck to med school, after all.”

“Shut up. You’re not funny.”

“Sorry. I’m trying here, Horuko.”

She sighed. “What are we going to do, Rex? We can’t go home. And we can’t very well _travel_ , not like this.”

“Well, we shouldn’t stay here. It’s too exposed.”

“You’re hurt. You need rest. And medicine, as soon as we can get some. Not to mention, food-”

“Calm down. There’s no need to get ahead of ourselves. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, ok? Let’s just...let’s just take this one step at a time. Ok?”

He squeezed her hand gently. Horuko felt like bursting into tears all over again.

“What are our options, here?” Rex continued. “Hotel?”

“Too much blood. The CIB? Can they help us?”

“Their headquarters is miles and miles away. We could call for backup, but who knows when they’d get here?”

“Some backup is still better than nothing, don’t you th- wait. Did you hear that?”

Horuko paused. And sure enough, from behind them, she heard it again- the telltale sound of a car engine, coming closer.

“Get back,” she said, standing up and holding an arm out protectively, “get back in the car.”

“Wait, I...I know that sound!”

“Get back in the car, now!”

“No, it’s alright, look!”

Horuko looked, and sure enough, saw that it was no enemy that was approaching them. It was the Mach 5.

The car slid smoothly to a stop a few yards away from them, and after a moment, Speed Racer climbed out of it.

“Racer X?” he called hesitantly. “Is that you?”

“Yeah,” Rex called hoarsely, raising a hand. “Long time no see, kid.”

“And...Horuko?”

“Yes,” Horuko said, fighting to compose herself.

“Oh, no,” Speed said, stopping short as he drew near enough to make out the blood staining Horuko’s clothes and hands. “What _happened_?”

“Nothing. Just a slight occupational hazard.”

“That is not nothing. You’re bleeding...you should be in the emergency room! Hang on, uh, I’ll, I’ll call an ambulance…!”

“No! No ambulance.”

“But-”

“It’s ok, Speed,” Horuko interjected. She could see him beginning to panic. Both of them didn’t need to be panicking. “We’re handling it. We’re ok.”

Speed hesitated for another moment, clearly torn. Finally, he asked, as if it were the most pressing question in the world, “do you two have a place to stay tonight?”

“O-oh...well…”

“If you’re not going to go to a hospital, you at least shouldn’t stay here. If you need somewhere to go, you can come home with me.”

“Thanks,” Rex began, “but we-”

“We’ll take you up on that,” Horuko interrupted. “If you’re serious.”

“Of course I’m serious! I want to help.”

“Alright. Ok. How far is it?”

“Less than ten minutes.”

“Ok. Good. We’ll follow you there, is that ok?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Let me, uh...let me, lemme get back in the car, then.”

“What the hell are you doing?!” Rex hissed at Horuko as she made her way around to the driver’s side again.

“Crossing the bridge.”

“No, no, there’s no bridge here!”

“Fording the damn river, then. We’re going.”

“ _No_. I won’t put them in danger.”

“Speed was the one who offered first. And you can’t deny, we really need his help right now. I’m sorry, Rex, but we’re going, and that’s the end of it.”

Ahead of them, the Mach 5 slowly began pulling away, and Horuko followed suit. Once he was sure they were with him, Speed picked up the pace, leading them away into the night.

And Horuko kept following, hoping against hope that she hadn't just made a terrible mistake.

Speed must have called ahead of them, because when they pulled up to the Racer family’s garage, the entire household was there waiting for them.

“Jeez,” the mechanic grimaced as Horuko bent to help Rex out of the car. “Seems like you guys have had a rough night.”

“You could say that,” Horuko said grimly.

“What happened? Are you ok?”

“Everything’s fine,” Rex said, but it didn’t sound convincing, even to his own ears. The pain in his leg had numbed somewhat, but left him feeling incredibly weak and drained. He was leaning heavily on Horuko’s shoulder just to stay upright.

“Mrs. Racer, I’m so sorry to trouble you. But I’m afraid we must ask to impose upon your hospitality for the night.”

“Oh, dear,” Mom Racer- as she was known to just about everyone- said, giving them a reassuring smile, “there was never even any question. Here, let me show you to the guest room.”

“Thank you.”

Mom led them through the house, explaining the whole time about how there were two beds, so they wouldn’t have to share, and how she would have Trixie fetch some clean clothes for Horuko, and Pops run out to get some medicine. At least, Rex assumed that’s what she was doing. He blacked out for a minute once they reached the stairs, and Speed had to step in to help Horuko physically lift him up.

When he came to again, he almost had a heart attack. 

“-should fit you alright, but if they don’t, you just let me know and we’ll find something that does,” Trixie was saying from somewhere off to his right.

“Thank you,” Horuko said, taking one hand off him to take the clothes being offered to her. “Really, thank you. It means more than you know.”

“Anytime, honey. Pops will be back soon with the medicine. C’mon, Speed, let’s give them some room to breathe.”

“Ok. You guys just holler if you need anything, alright?”

“We will. Thank you.”

Speed and Trixie left, closing the door gently behind them. Rex struggled just to breathe.

“Hey,” Horuko said, “what’s wrong? Are you alright?”

“No.”

“You heard what Trixie said. Help is on the way. I need you to hang in there until th-”

“This was my room, Horuko,” Rex said quietly. “This was my furniture. This was my _wallpaper_.”

“Oh, Rex…”

“They never...never changed it. Any of it.”

Horuko reached back and set the clothes she was holding on top of the dresser, and gently put her hands on his back.

Numb as he was, Rex let her steer him over to his childhood bed, and sit him down on it. She sat down next to him and reached out, for the second time that night, to hold his hand.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I know you didn’t want to come here. But I don’t think we had much of any other choice.”

“I know. You were just doing what you thought was best.”

“I just wanted to make sure you would be alright.”

“I know.”

Horuko let her head drop onto Rex’s shoulder. “I’m tired,” she said, her voice wavering.

“It’s over, for now. Go to sleep.”

“Not until you get your medicine.”

“I’m alright. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Too late.”

“At least go get changed. You’re a mess.”

“Your fault.”

“My fault.”

“I will. Just let me stay here a moment longer.”

“Ok,” Rex said, closing his eyes, gently squeezing her hand. “Take all the time you need.”

By the time Pops knocked on the door with the medicine Mom had sent him out for, Horuko was asleep sitting up, with her head still on Rex’s shoulder and her hand still in his. Still in her bloody clothes, and everything.

Pops smiled. Bent down and picked her up with apparent ease, laid her gently on the other bed in the room and pulled the blanket up around her shoulders.

“Sorry about this,” Rex mumbled. He was having a hard time keeping his eyes open.

“It’s alright. You’re both safe here. What happened to your leg?”

“Gunshot.”

“Did she clean it before bandaging it?”

“Yes.”

“Right, then. Here take these.”

He handed Rex a couple of pills, which he accepted without question.

“Thank you.”

“Painkillers in there, should help you sleep.”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

“Listen...the people that did this...can you say for certain that they won’t follow you here?”

“No,” Rex muttered, avoiding Pops’ eyes. “That’s why I didn’t want to come here.”

Pops sighed. “Look, son,” he said, and Rex’s heart throbbed extra painfully in his chest. “I’m not blaming you. If they come, they come. I just want to know so we can be prepared to meet them if they do.”

“Sorry,” Rex repeated.

“It’s alright. We’ll keep an eye out. You just rest, heal that leg of yours. We’ll talk in the morning.”

“Mhm.”

Pops turned and walked out again, switching off the light as he went.

Rex laid down, and slept.

Horuko awoke the next morning to sunlight streaming through a window that wasn’t hers, and, for a moment, she had no idea where she was.

But then she saw Rex, asleep on the other side of the room, and it all came flooding back to her. Their nightmarish escape from the cartel, her treatment of the wound on her partner’s leg, the white knuckle drive from the track to the Racer home, following Speed.

As quietly as she could, she slipped out of bed and wandered down the hallway til she found a bathroom. Once there she got right into the shower, scrubbing almost frantically at the dried blood on her hands until she was finally, finally clean again. She washed her hair, and spent an extra long time brushing it out smooth. Stepped into the clothes Trixie had lent her- a little tight in the shoulders, but otherwise a good fit- and wondered what to do next.

Eventually she settled for going downstairs to try and find someone else to catch her up to speed, and find some breakfast. She was starving.

In the living room, Mom wished her good morning, asked if she’d slept well, and headed straight into the kitchen to make her a plate of eggs, sausage, and hash browns. Pops informed her that the night had passed completely quietly, and there had been no sign of anyone searching for them anywhere in the neighborhood. Sparky even popped in to inform her that he’d taken the liberty of cleaning the Augury for them.

“I don’t know what to say,” Horuko admitted. “How can we possibly repay you for all your kindness?”

“You can pay it forward to someone else in need someday, sweetheart,” Mom said serenely. “Now, milk? Orange juice?”

“Just water, please. Unless there’s tea.”

“There sure is! Trixie always keeps us well-stocked.”

“Ohh, thank you.”

“When Racer X gets up, he needs to take three of these, and two of those,” Pops instructed her, gesturing to a handful of pill bottles on the counter. “There’s also some iron tablets in there, if he’s still feeling weak.”

“I understand. Thank you.”

“Sure. Let’s not wake him, though. The best thing for him right now is probably just to let him rest.”

In the end, Rex slept for most of the rest of the day, staggering out of bed in search of Horuko at roughly two in the afternoon. She gave him his medicine and ushered him right back to bed. He went without much complaint- an indicator of just how worn out he really was.

She spent the rest of the day up in the guest room with him, just talking. Neither of them said anything about the previous night’s fiasco. Neither of them wanted to think about it, she was sure.

Within just a few hours, Rex began acting more like himself. The medicine seemed to be doing him good, for which Horuko was endlessly thankful.

By the next morning he was back on his feet, hobbling around with only the occasional help from Horuko. He snapped at her when she tried to get him to take things slow, and eventually she gave up and just let him do what he wanted. Honestly, she imagined she would likely have done much the same thing in his shoes.

The Racers continued to go out of their way to make their guests feel welcome. And if Racer X acted a little bit out of character any time one of them was in the room- a little stiffer than usual, a little more cautious- they never seemed to notice. Just smiled reassuringly and wished him a speedy recovery.

Horuko noticed, though.

“How do you think they even learned about that gun shipment?” Rex wondered aloud on the afternoon of their second day, up in their room.

“Couldn’t tell you,” Horuko said absently, preoccupied with about a million other things.

“I mean, who even has that kind of weaponry lying around, that they can fill an entire shipping container with it?”

“The cartel has it, now. Like as not.”

“Well. We’ll be better prepared next time.”

“Maybe we should warn the Racers, too.”

“No, we shouldn’t. The less they know, the less there is for them to worry about, the better.”

Horuko sighed. 

“Rex,” she said, “you aren’t going to want to hear this. But you have to tell them.”

“I just said, I don’t think we should worry them with-”

“Not about the guns. About you.”

Rex blinked. Then he sighed, too.

“We’ve been over this,” he said wearily. “I’m not telling them.”

“I know you want to,” Horuko continued stubbornly, ignoring him. “You want to so badly that it’s tearing you apart.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Don’t lie to me. You told me, someone who has nothing to do with your going into hiding in the first place. I’m nothing, I’m no one. But you were just so desperate to tell someone that you-”

“It’s not like that,” Rex said loudly. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“My point exactly,” Horuko insisted, undeterred. “This is your family we’re talking about! They know you, Rex, they _love_ you.”

“You don’t understand. I don’t have a _choice_ here!”

“Oh, please.”

“If I’d had the choice, I wouldn’t have done what I did in the first place!”

“Maybe you felt like you didn’t have any other choice at the time. But that’s in the past, this is now! You say you want to protect them, and yet you were the one to ask Speed to race with you in the Casa Cristo! And I don’t remember you complaining when the rest of the family showed up and helped us win that race!”

“That was diff-”

“Oh, grow up! Look at everything they’ve done for us, Rex. We can trust them! And it’s not that you don’t know that-”

“Horuko-”

“It’s that you’ve been cut off from them for so long that you just don’t know how to admit what really happened! Isn’t that it?”

“Stop it,” Rex snapped. Judging by how upset he was, Horuko was sure she was right. “I’m not having this argument again. It’s not something so black and white, that I can just wave my hand and magically undo!”

“If you would just, for one second-”

“It’s not about me-”

“-quit living in the past and actually think-”

“-and even if it were, it wouldn’t change anyth-”

“-about what you _want_ -”

“-cause it’s not _about what I want_!”

Suddenly, without warning, the door opened, making both of them jump.

“Oh!” Trixie exclaimed, emerging into view behind it. “I’m sorry, was I, uh, interrupting something?”

“No,” Horuko said, exhaling deeply and making a conscious effort to relax her shoulders and unclench her fists, “nothing.”

“I brought some food,” Trixie explained sheepishly, holding up a plate positively piled with sandwiches. “We made some for the boys in the garage, and thought you guys might be hungry, too. Didn’t know what you liked, though, so there’s a little bit of everything.”

“Thank you, Trixie. That’s very kind of you. Isn’t it, Racer X?”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

“Anytime. I’ll leave them right here. If you need me, I’ll be in the kitchen.”

“Let me help you clean up,” Horuko said, standing up.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that!”

“Please, it’s the least I can do.”

“Horuko-”

“Go on and eat, Racer X. I’ll have some later.”

Horuko stood up and followed Trixie out of the room, closing the door behind her.

“Sorry,” Trixie repeated sheepishly.

“It’s alright,” Horuko assured her. “We probably needed a break from each other, anyway.”

“Hardest lesson in the entire world to learn,” Trixie said, nodding sagely, heading for the stairs. “When a boy’s giving you grief, you gotta learn to walk away and let him stew for a bit. He’ll come to his senses soon enough, you’ll see.”

“I sure hope so, Trixie. I sure hope so.”

Horuko was right. Rex hated, with every fiber of his being, to admit it, but she was completely right. He did want to tell his family that he was still alive. He wanted it so badly that his heart _ached_ , every time he thought about it.

Being back home only made it worse. With Mom smiling at him while she prepared dinner, and Pops talking nonstop about his latest projects, and Speed visibly losing focus during conversations, daydreaming about racing, the same way he had ever since he was six years old. 

Rex hadn’t been part of a _family_ for so long. And even though he’d convinced himself he was dealing with it just fine, being suddenly confronted with what he’d lost only made it clear that he was not. He was not coping at all as well as he’d thought.

But after all this time, how could he possibly tell them the truth and expect them to just be ok with it? After he’d hurt them the way he had?

He spent hours laying in bed, trying to come up with something to say to Horuko when next she came in. On top of everything, he didn’t think he could take her being mad at him, too. He planned out countless conversations, but, in the end, none of them were right.

Eventually, it became clear that it wouldn’t have mattered if he found the right thing to say, anway, because she was avoiding him. He laid around for another hour or so after that realization, fuming at her for being so stubborn.

And then he gave up. She was right. 

She was right.

So he got up and headed downstairs. Hobbled into the living room, where most of the family, plus Horuko, was sitting around watching some game show he’d never heard of.

“Hey, uh, Trixie?” he asked. “Will you go fetch the guys from the garage for me? I have...something to say. To everybody.”

“Oh! Ok, sure.”

“Is something wrong?” Speed asked, while Mom reached out to mute the television and Horuko positively beamed at him.

“No. But it is important.”

After a moment, Trixie returned with Sparky and Pops, who merely raised his eyebrows at him expectantly. Rex cleared his throat.

“I-I...I haven’t been completely honest with you.”

“What do you mean?” Speed asked, brow furrowing.

“If it’s about what happened to your leg,” Pops put in, “that’s none of our business. You don’t have to tell us.”

“It’s not. It’s about...me.”

Rex paused, and took a deep breath. Horuko had been right about him being scared, too. He was absolutely terrified. But, he’d made up his mind to do this. He couldn’t chicken out now.

He reached up and pulled his mask off.

“What’s he doing?” Sparky whispered, loud enough for the whole room to hear.

“I lied to you,” Rex confessed. “I was trying to protect you. All of you. But, I think...I think I may have ended up doing more hurt than help.”

He was making a mess of this. But what else could he do? What could he possibly say, to make them understand?

“I didn’t know what else to do,” he said, staring fixedly at the carpet, hoping that somehow he’d find the right words along the way. “People were already talking about me. People were angry, and I didn’t want to bring that down on you. Especially after...the argument. I thought it would be better for everyone if I just...disappeared. So, I...I...I faked the accident. I changed my name, and my face. I lied. And I wanted t-to...to apologize, I guess?”

He risked a glance up, at the faces around him. Most of them looked completely lost, and, honestly, he couldn’t say he blamed them.

But before he could figure out how to say what he wanted to say, Mom stood up, and timidly approached him. Slowly reached out to place a hand on the side of his face, staring intently into his eyes. Rex swallowed, but did his best to hold her gaze.

“...Rex?” she said quietly, still staring at him.

“Yeah, Mom,” Rex muttered, closing his eyes and leaning into her touch.

“Oh,” Mom gasped softly, her eyes welling with tears. “O-oh, Rex…”

She put her arms around his shoulders, and Rex hugged her back, burying his face in her hair.

“...Faked the accident?” Pops said, astonished, into the silence. “What...how…?”

“It was my idea. But Inspector Detector helped. There’s no cameras in the tunnels, it wasn’t that hard. I’m sorry, Pops,” he said shakily, looking up at his father over his mother’s head. “I thought...if there was a way to do it without completely wrecking the car-”

“ _Forget_ the car,” Pops said, moving over to wrap both Rex and Mom up in his arms. “We thought we’d lost you, son.”

“Sorry,” Rex said again, his voice breaking as tears began to spill out onto his cheeks. “Y-you...you’re not mad at me?”

“No, sweetie,” Mom said, rubbing a hand reassuringly over his back.

“Not anymore.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

Mom and Pops both broke away from Rex, to turn and look at Speed, standing in the middle of the living room with his fists balled, looking like he wanted to lunge at Rex and punch him in the face.

Which, admittedly. Rex deserved that.

“Speed,” Trixie said quietly, stepping forward and putting a hand on his shoulder, which he shrugged off.

“After all this time, after what you _did_ , you think you can just...just walk in here and...you lied to me to my _face_!”

“Yeah I did,” Rex said simply. “I thought it was the best way to keep you safe. But I’m telling you the truth now. I’m sor-”

“No! How do you expect me to trust anything you say? You’ve lied about everything else!”

Speed spun on his heel, and stormed off towards the garage, slamming the door behind him. Moments later, they heard the Mach 5’s engine rumble to life.

“Oh, no...”

“It’s ok. Let him go. He has every right to be upset. I’ve put him through a lot. I realize that now.”

“Oh, honey,” Mom said, stepping in to hug him again. “It must have been so hard for you.”

“Mmm,” Rex grunted noncommittally, letting himself be held. Horuko smiled reassuringly at him from across the room.

“I, uh, suppose I owe you an apology, too,” Pops said. “I shouldn’t have been so harsh with you. I know now what you were trying to do. I shouldn’t have thrown you out like that.”

“It’s ok, Pops. I think there’s blame to go around.”

“Jeez louise,” Sparky said, flopping down on the couch. “I’m gonna need some time off to wrap my head around this.”

“Me too,” Trixie agreed. “Who’d have thunk, huh?”

“You should have told us sooner, Rex.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Sorry.”

“It’s ok, sweetie. You’re making up for it now. You’re here now, and that’s what matters.”

He found Speed at the track, right where he expected to. Sitting on the Mach 5’s hood with his shoulders all hunched, brooding in the moonlight.

“Hey. Hey, Speed.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Mom was worried about you being out here on your own. I told her I’d bring you back.”

“...You shouldn’t be driving on that leg.”

“As if a little thing like this could keep me from driving. I’ll be good as new by the time the Thunderhead circuit rolls around, you’ll see.”

“Hmph.”

“...Are you ok?”

“No. I haven’t been ok since I was ten. You see, I saw my brother die in a fatal car crash on live television.”

“Yeah. I deserved that. For what it’s worth, I really am sorry. I’ll make it up to you. If you’ll let me.”

Speed sighed heavily. “It’s ok. I know it wasn’t your fault. Can I ask you one thing, though?”

“Sure.”

“What made you decide to tell us now?”

“Hah! I didn’t decide to do anything. _Horuko_ decided it was time for me to tell you, and wouldn’t leave me alone until I did.”

“Really? Wow. I guess she really is more like her brother than I first thought.”

“She is. But she doesn’t have his bad attitude, thank god.”

“Come on, Rex,” Speed said, sliding off the car with the ghost of a smile on his face. “Let’s go home.”

“Yeah. Home.”

The night after spilling his secret to his family, Rex slept like a rock at the bottom of a well. He was utterly exhausted. He woke up even later in the morning than usual, and it was only with a colossal effort that he was able to pry himself up out of bed.

Eventually, he wandered downstairs, yawning, ruffling his bed head hair somewhat back into place.

“Good morning,” Mom called cheerily from the kitchen, where she was working her way through last night’s dinner dishes.

“Mornin’. Smells good. Pancakes…?”

“Uh-huh. Plenty on the table, if you want some.”

“Thanks.”

Rex sank into a seat at the dining table opposite Spritle, who also happened to be in the room enjoying his own breakfast. There was, in fact, a towering stack of Mom’s famous pancakes in the middle of it, with a couple of empty plates and a handful of sides and syrups piled up nearby, as per Racer family tradition.

“I missed your pancakes,” Rex said honestly, grabbing a fork and serving himself.

“When Royalton was here trying to recruit Speed, he offered to buy my recipe.”

“Did he really? You didn’t give it to him, did you?”

“No, I don’t think I ever did.”

“Good,” Rex said decisively. “Hey, kid, pass the chocolate?”

Spritle jumped, comically dramatically, upon being addressed, but he did reach out and hand Rex the bottle of chocolate syrup, which Rex uncapped and unapologetically drizzled all over his pancakes. The way he had when he was a child. He didn’t do it much anymore, but after last night, he thought he’d probably earned it, right?

“Um...Racer X?” Spritle asked timidly.

“Hm?”

“Are you really my brother?”

“Oh.” Rex hesitated, lowering his fork again. Belatedly, he realized that Spritle’s pancakes were covered in chocolate syrup, too. “Well, yes. I suppose I am.”

“How old are you?”

“I don’t know.”

“What? How do you not know your own age?!”

“I stopped counting a long time ago,” Rex confessed. “I always had more important things to think about, I guess.”

“You’re twenty-eight, dear,” Mom said over her shoulder from her place at the sink.

“Ah. Well. There you go.”

“So, you’re sixteen years older than me.”

“Yeah, I guess. Pretty big gap, huh?”

“Not really, cause you’re eight years older than Speed, and Speed is eight years older than me.”

“Is that so?”

“Well, technically, he’s closer to seven and a half years older than me, but it’s the same thing, really.”

Rex smiled, in spite of himself.

“It must be weird to suddenly find out you have another brother,” he said. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s ok. It’s pretty cool, actually. I always thought Racer X was a super cool guy.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah! Ever since the Cairo Crown four years ago. We went there to watch Speed, but you were there too. And the way you lured Mariana Zanja off to the side, then flashed her and swerved off, and she ran straight into Boom Boom Renaldi! It was one of the coolest moves I’ve ever seen!”

Truth be told, Rex had forgotten about that race until now. That move had been pretty cool, hadn’t it.

“Yeah, well, races aren’t won just by fancy cars and going fast. You have to be smart about it. If you know your opponents, you can get them to fall for things like that, sometimes.”

“You know them? The other racers?”

“Some of them.”

“Are you _friends_ with any of them?”

“Hm,” Rex pursed his lips, thinking. “Gray Ghost. He’s pretty chill. We know each other pretty well. That’s how he was able to drive me off the track that one time in Miami, that jerk. As for the rest, I’d say we’re more just acquaintances. Competitors, you know.”

“Have you met Gothorm Danns...Dannis…”

“Danneskjøld. Yes, I’ve met him.”

“He always talks like a viking in his interviews. Is he like that in real life?”

“Yes, and it’s annoying as hell.”

“Language, Rex.”

“Sorry, Mom.”

“Why! He’s gotta know that the actual vikings didn’t have cars, let alone polarized thrust booster engines like the one he has.”

“I don’t know, kid. I mostly just try to stay away from him.”

At that moment, Sparky entered the kitchen. There was already a large smear of grease on his face, despite the early hour.

“Hey, Spritle,” he said, “Pops was looking for you. Something about missing drill bits.”

“Again?! Chim Chim is the one who took them, not me!”

“Yeah, yeah. Your monkey, your responsibility. Go fetch ‘em, wouldja?”

“Alright, alright.”

Spritle hopped down from his chair, and Sparky dropped into it in his place.

“He wasn’t bothering you, was he?”

“No, no. It’s fine.”

“Spritle can be a bit much to handle sometimes,” Sparky laughed, reaching out to load a plate of pancakes for himself. “You can just tell him to get lost if he’s buggin’ you.”

“I will, if I need to, don’t worry.”

“He really is a good kid, at heart. Although, it doesn’t seem likely that he’ll grow up to be a racer like his brothers.”

“No,” Rex said, smiling, “no, I think he’s going to grow up to design and build cars like his father.”

“Really? What makes you say that?”

“Curious, head for numbers, with a great memory. Not to mention persistent.”

“...Huh. I never thought about it like that.”

“Me neither,” Mom chimed in. “Wouldn’t that be wonderful, though? Pops would be thrilled.”

“You should give him some more responsibility around the garage,” Rex suggested. “I bet he’d like that.”

“I don’t know about that one, mate. He’s twelve.”

“By the time I was twelve I’d wrecked the Mach 5 three times already. I’m not saying you should make him a full-time employee, just give him something to do.”

“I’ll mention it to Pops. Mom is right, he really would be excited, I think.”

“Rex!” Horuko’s voice called from the direction of the stairs.

“In the kitchen,” he yelled back.

“Hey,” she said, sticking her head through the doorway, “Tyler just messaged me. They’re starting closing remarks today.”

“Seriously? Is it going to be televised?”

“Yep, through a local news outlet. I’m about to put it on now. Mrs. Racer, you don’t mind if I use your tv, do you?”

“Of course not, sweetie!”

“Wha’ exactly are we watchinf?” Sparky asked, around a mouthful of pancake.

“Cruncher Block’s trial.”

“Oh! Didn’t realize that was still going on.”

“Not for much longer. Now hurry up, Rex, or we’ll miss the best part!”

The night after the night he spilled his secret to his family, Rex slept fitfully. Staying still while waiting for his leg to heal was starting to weigh on him a little, he felt sure. He awoke in the small hours of the morning, before dawn, and couldn’t seem to get back to sleep.

So he got up, being careful not to wake Horuko, and went out for a drive to clear his head.

And, while he was out on the road, it suddenly occurred to him that, in and around everything else that had been happening, there was something important they had forgotten. Which meant he had to drive to the Togokahn vacation home.

By the time he made it back to the Racers’ neighborhood, the sun was up. And by the time he made it to the Racers’ driveway, Horuko was storming out the front door to meet him.

“What the hell were you _thinking_!” she shouted, the moment he opened the car door.

Rex blinked at her. “Jeez. Good morning to you, too.”

“Running off without telling anyone! You could have been hurt! For all we knew, you could have been caught! Or lying bleeding out in a ditch somewhere!”

“Hey, hey, calm down. Look, I’m fine. Everything’s fine.”

“Everything’s not fine! What on earth made you think it was ok to just up and leave like that? What were you doing out there?!”

“Here,” Rex said simply, reaching back into the car and coming back up with a cardboard box, which he held out to Horuko.

She took it, and carefully lifted back one of the flaps. Inside, was Kimchi. He meowed loudly at the sight of her, likely announcing his displeasure at being kept in the dark.

Horuko stared at him. Then, slowly, she looked back up at Rex, with such a dumbfounded expression on her face that he almost burst out laughing.

“You went back for him…?”

“Yeah, well. He’s already been abandoned once. Couldn’t let that happen again, now, could we?”

Horuko wordlessly turned around and handed off the box to Trixie, standing curiously nearby. Then, she moved in and threw her arms around Rex, hugging him almost uncomfortably tight.

“I hate you,” she said, her voice muffled into his chest.

“I’m sorry,” Rex said, awkwardly reaching up to put an arm around her shoulders in return.

“No you’re not.”

“Yes I am.”

“What would I do if something happened to you?” she demanded, pulling back just far enough to glare at him properly. “What on earth would I do without you?!”

“Nothing’s going to happen to me! I’m not going anywhere.”

“Liar. You can’t _walk_ , and you go running off into the lion’s den, without even letting me know first! You got shot less than three days ago, for crying out loud!”

“I didn’t mean it like that! I was just going to come right back. But, you’re right, I should have told you I would be out. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“ _Liar_ ,” Horuko snarled, but nevertheless she moved in to embrace him once again. “That’s all you ever do.”

“I’m sorry, Horuko. Really.”

“Oh, shut up. I’m through talking to you. Go inside and rest like you’re supposed to.”

“I will.”

Horuko left without waiting for him to follow, muttering darkly under her breath as she went. Rex limped the rest of the way up the driveway on his own, pointedly ignoring Pops, in the doorway, who seemed very much amused by the whole situation.

“A cat?” Spritle asked, peering into the box.

“Does Chim Chim like cats?” Trixie asked, reaching out to tickle Kimchi’s chin.

“I think Chim Chim loves cats. But I’m not too sure how the cats feel about Chim Chim…”

“You know, son,” Pops said as Rex approached, “you’re going to regret it for the rest of your life if you let a woman like that get away from you.”

“Woah, no, we’re not...It’s not like that.”

“Suuuure it’s not.”

Rex sighed. “Look, can we keep the cat here for a few days?”

“Is it litter box trained?”

“We’re still working on that. I’ll clean up after him.”

“Alright then, fine by me. Why don’t you go inside and rest like you’re supposed to, eh?”

“Oh, shut up.”

“Good morning, Racer X. To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?”

“Just thought I’d check in. I know I was, uh, out of commission for a while, but I’m ready to get back in the field now. Whenever you need me.”

“That is good to hear. As a matter of fact, Minx wanted to see you- she has an upgrade she’d like to test out on the Augury.”

“Alright. I’ll drop by headquarters. Whenever’s good for you.”

“Thursday morning?”

“Sure.”

“Excellent. You should bring your partner with you, whenever you come. I’d love to meet her.”

“...Partner, sir?”

“The woman you’ve been working with, gathering up evidence to be used against Block in court.”

“Ah. You, uh, knew about that, did you?”

“It’s my job to know things, Racer X,” Inspector Detector reminded him.

“Right.”

“You should ask her whether or not she’s interested in becoming a full time agent, too.”

“...Are you serious?”

“Of course I am! I can’t get you to play nice with anyone else. Clearly this woman has something the rest of us don’t. The two of you have been doing good work together. Of course I want to keep that up.”

“That’s…” Rex laughed, caught at a loss for words. “I can already tell you, she’ll be thrilled.”

“Wonderful. I’ll have the paperwork drawn up and waiting when you get here. We’ll see you then.”

“Yes, sir. See you then.”

“Sister.”

“Brother.”

“I heard a terrible rumor about you the other day.”

“Did you now? Do tell.”

“I heard that you’ve been hanging around with Racer X. Tyler Cason said he’s seen the two of you together on multiple occasions.”

“Oh, is that all?”

“Well? Is it true?”

“Yes, very much so.”

“What! What are you thinking, Horuko? Surely you must know that that man is dangerous, not to mention a mannerless fool.”

“Oh please, Taejo. He has great manners. He’s just never shown them to you. Respect has to be earned, my dear little brother.”

“I mean it, Horuko! He can’t be trusted!”

“Yes, he can. You’re overreacting.”

Taejo sighed dramatically on the other end of the line, and Horuko chuckled.

“When are you coming home?” he asked eventually.

“That’s what I was calling about, actually. I’m not, at least not for a while.”

“What?”

“I was offered a job! The kind of offer that doesn’t come along very often.”

“Wha- Are you working with _him_?!”

“Maybe.”

“Horukooooo. Do you have any idea what you’ve gotten yourself into…?”

“Of course I do, Taejo. I can take care of myself. You know that.”

“Father’s going to be furious.”

“Father doesn’t need to know. You won’t tell him, will you?”

“I should.”

“Probably. But, come on, we don’t need to worry him. I want to be the one to tell him.”

“When?”

“I don’t know yet. But I will. When I’m ready.”

“I don’t know. I still don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“I’ll be fine. Don’t you worry about me. If anything, worry about yourself- you have a lot of training to do if you want to beat X in the Thunderhead.”

“X is competing in the Thunderhead?”

“Yep.”

“...Hmph.”

“Mhm, that’s what I thought you’d say. I’ll call you again soon, once we get settled. Feed Father a convincing lie for me.”

“Alright, alright, fine. You will at least try to stay safe out there, won’t you?”

“Always,” Horuko said, smiling across the Augury’s cockpit at Rex, who had one hand on the steering wheel and the other cradling a sleeping Kimchi in his lap, windows down as they sped down a deserted highway, off to their next adventure.

“Always.”

**Author's Note:**

> Listen, ok. I may not know much about the inner workings of the legal system. Or about the administering of first aid. Or racecar driving. But this fic got me out of a major writing slump, and that's good enough for me. I love Rex, and I love Horuko, and this was a story I felt like I really needed to tell. And I'm very glad to have done so!
> 
> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
